Delhi cabinet decisions: EV policy extended, optometry wing to come up

The Delhi cabinet on Thursday extended the electric vehicle policy till March 2025, after the policy expired on June 30 and disrupted the disbursement of subsidies on the purchase of EVs in the Capital, chief minister Atishi said.
The cabinet also approved the creation of an optometry training wing at the Guru Nanak Eye Centre to offer a four-year bachelors course and release of ₹17 crore to Delhi SC/ST/OBCMin. & Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation, Atishi said in a press conference at the Delhi secretariat following a cabinet meeting.
“Subsidies for electric vehicles sold after January 1, 2024, will be transferred to buyers’ accounts, and road tax exemptions will be provided to EV buyers,” Atishi said.
On allocation of funds to the SC, ST and minority corporation, she said: “They stopped the salary of more than 125 employees of this corporation for months. Today, the Delhi cabinet has decided to release ₹17 crore to this corporation so that employees can continue to receive their pending salaries and future salaries on time.”
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal hailed the decisions, posting on X: “Congratulations to the people of Delhi. The Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy is being restarted. ”
The Delhi government rolled out the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy in August 2020.
“The result of this policy was that, in 2019-20, the number of EVs registered in Delhi was less than 4% of total vehicles. After the implementation of this policy, by 2023-24, more than 12% of registered vehicles in Delhi were electric, the highest in the country and double the national average of 6%,” Atishi said.
“The optometry training wing at Guru Nanak Eye Centre will offer students a four-year Bachelor of Optometry course. The Delhi government is committed to providing better health care and young professionals will be trained,” Atishi said.
The four-year bachelors course includes a one-year internship, officials familiar with the developments said.